Rand Paul Amendment Barring War With Iran, Syria Added To Sanctions Bill

NEW YORK -- The Senate is poised to consider updated legislation stepping up sanctions on Iran on Thursday, and due to persistence from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the bill will contain a provision making sure the measure is not used as an excuse to go to war with Iran or Syria.

According to a Senate Democratic leadership aide, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will ask for unanimous consent on Thursday to pass an updated version of the Johnson-Shelby Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act of 2012. The measure would go after Iran's mining, energy and shipping sectors and penalize U.S. parent companies for the Iran-related activities of their foreign subsidiaries.

The bill easily passed out of the Senate Banking Committee, but in March, when Reid tried to bring it up for unanimous consent, Paul blocked it in an effort to insert his amendment.

Although nothing in the sanctions bill authorizes war with Iran, Paul didn't want to take any chances. His amendment would make clear that nothing in the bill "shall be construed as a declaration of war or an authorization of use of force against Iran or Syria."

According to the Senate Democratic leadership aide, the updated legislation before the chamber on Thursday will include Paul's amendment.

It will also include a provision pushed by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) that strengthens sanctions against companies that engage in or support censorship in Iran.

In addition, the bill strengthens human rights provisions and addresses Iran’s jamming of satellite communications. It contains non-binding language recommending that sanctions be more intensely enforced and that sanctions evasion efforts by Iran be closely monitored.

Paul had been searching for support for his amendment, and as of May 9, only Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) had signaled a possible willingness to sign on.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told The Huffington Post that he didn't see what the hold-up was. "It doesn't bother me. I don't think it's necessary, but it's okay by me," he said of Paul's amendment.

Paul's office did not immediately return a request for comment on Reid's announcement.

Ryan Grim contributed reporting.

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Comments

[Declan McManus]

11:43 PM on 05/22/2012

Thanks to Rand Paul. He is one of very, very few who have the fiber to stand up to AIPAC. He and his father. This is simply another bill the AIPAC tried to shove through congress in efforts to goad the US into attacking Iran strictly for the benefit of Israel. I would love to be a fly on the wall when Rand Paul kicks those AIPAC goons out of his office.

[ennis438]

08:10 PM on 05/18/2012

Guess Mr. Paul will have to discover a new party for himself. His co-workers all love war so much, he will be an unwelcomed member real soon with that attitude on future wars.

[Douglas Holmes II]

03:52 PM on 09/23/2012

It would be the Libertarian Party, but he's a bit on the Social Conservative side.

[Nick Riley]

01:05 PM on 02/22/2013

Rand Paul will take the best from both parties as his supporters.

The peace loving Republicans and the balanced budget loving Democrats.

He will unite them under Libertarian principles.

Will everybody get 100 percent of what they want? No.

Will everyone have the purchasing power of the dollar preserved? Yes.

People vote with their wallets, and I'll be voting for Randal Paul 2016

[CroatianCritter]

07:16 PM on 05/18/2012

All this proves to me is that we need more people like the "Pauls" in our electorate. Since Obama has pretty much destroyed the anti-war movement in this country by making it bi-partisan consensus for both liberals and conservatives to support the military industrial complex, it is up to the Republicans with libertarian leanings to warn us about the dangers of the road that we are going down. Based on international news, there is no will in Europe to stay in Afghanistan till 2024. Look for many European countries to start abandoning that coalition. Since two of the best anti-war voices in the Democratic Party were unceremoniously dumped (Feingold & Kucinich) with hardly a peep, we have to depend on Rand and his retiring father to remind us of the insane road we continue to go down. Props to him for understanding the vague language of this bill. It reads like a war declaration. The problem is that our Congress is so wrapped up with special interests that if these parties want a war, we are going to get it despite the valiant efforts of Rand Paul.

[USA-forever]

04:35 PM on 05/18/2012

thank you, rand paul, for taking the precaution to put the industrial-military-complex and AIPAC sponsored politicians who want to put american's at war for causes other than america's protection in a bind.

[tryagainandagainandagain]

10:13 AM on 05/18/2012

I don’t know much about this Paul, it seems to me if I do some investigating I may find out he has done more for the people then the last two presidents. I wonder if he is as sick of the military industry as I am.

[sglahn817]

08:19 AM on 05/18/2012

Where was this guy when bush was president?

[ChknLvr]

01:47 PM on 05/18/2012

He was elected to the Senate in 2008.

[HeatForce]

05:15 PM on 06/18/2012

quick correction, he was elected in 2010

[Sisa]

07:16 AM on 05/18/2012

Hey Rand he TSA is waiting for your next flight... They have a body cavity search seminar all lined up.

[arabbit]

03:41 AM on 05/18/2012

These guys aren't stupid. They know Iran has no nukes. It's just an excuse.
Iran is accepting currency other than the dollar in oil sales. That's a major reason why the war drums are beating. It undermines the dollar's position as the global currency not to mention the money lost to bankers in currency exchange. Iraq tried this and see what happened to them. Venezuela sells it's oil for Euros so they're not too popular either..
Anyway, China, India and Russia will buy all the oil and minerals Iran can produce using their own currencies to buy it. Sanctions have shifted the Iranian economy away from the west along with the benefits that accrue from it.
The US is out of the loop, shot in the foot again.

[Douglas Holmes II]

03:54 PM on 09/23/2012

No crap. You don't first strike on anyone with nukes.

Even if they did get nukes, they'd be stupid to use them. It would be suicide.

It's worth mentioning the only country to use nukes would be... The US.

[l78lancer]

03:19 AM on 05/18/2012

Great. So Paul is proposing a ban on a war that neither the administration nor the majority in the senate want. Even israel has backed away from the notion fo sriking Iran.

Paul is dumb and his amendment is dumb and unnecessary. This is about grandstanding to score cheap political points.

[Sam Debater]

12:23 AM on 05/18/2012

Sanctions don't work on zealots. The only way to stop dictators is by war. Incidentally, I see nothing in this amendment that stops us from supplying and equipping the opposition. One way or another, we will be fighting a war, somewhere, due to Iran or Syria.

[BG-back]

07:46 AM on 05/18/2012

A war will happen most likely because of |$rae| rather than the two you mentioned... |r@n hasn't attacked any neighboring country as far back as memory goes, while |$rae| has bombed all it's neighbors at one point or another.

[Sam Debater]

12:09 PM on 05/18/2012

Iran supplies missiles and weapons to Syria, Hezbollah, the Afghanistan Taliban and Iraqi insurgents. Israel had to bomb its neighbors when they attacked her. She lives in a bad neighborhood.

[voodoo8]

11:33 PM on 05/17/2012

Is it me, or does Rand always appear coated in jelly?

[had410]

12:39 PM on 09/18/2012

It's you.

[KLindg]

08:28 PM on 05/17/2012

They need to introduce an Amendment that attaches a clause to any declaration of war with Iran that would activate the draft with no deferments, and every Federal Politician forfeits their salary during the entire length of the war effort. These politicians will never stop sending us to war until they actually get some skin in the game. Do this and watch how fast this beating of the war drums halts...

[Karen Huffman]

11:00 AM on 05/19/2012

Mitt Romney for one politician chickenhawk, has been for attacks in Iran, but not one of his family will be seen holding a rifle or getting their legs blown off in a sand pit of hell.

[streeghtfighter]

08:18 PM on 05/17/2012

The US has just announced that its war planning for Iran is both ready and complete.
Slow em down anyway you can. At least this shows some resistance for another useless war.

What does the video have to do with the article?

[Almondo]

08:16 PM on 05/17/2012

What we have here is an MDA or meaningless drivel amendment.

Rand is not this first pinhead at a podium to do this, nor will he be the last.

[Almondo]

07:54 PM on 05/17/2012

nothing in the bill "shall be construed as a declaration of war or an authorization of use of force against Iran or Syria."

nothing in the bill "shall be construed as a declaration of hot dogs or an authorization of use of beer against Iran or Syria."

Define the difference between the two above statements.

If you think there actually is one, then you weren't paying attention.

[l78lancer]

03:21 AM on 05/18/2012

(chuckling...)

[HeatForce]

05:20 PM on 06/18/2012

Sigh...Obama has war zelots too I guess.

[had410]

12:40 PM on 09/18/2012

Neo-con's come in both parties.